Prerequisites for the Modelling and Analysis of a Product Development Process Using Network Theory

Abstract

Network models have already been used with the intent to gain addi- tional information about the structure of product development processes (PDP). ’ These are supposed to map the flow of information and data as well as to provide a deeper understanding of the company s procedures. Process networks commonly represent dependencies of tasks and/or social contacts. Treating tasks as nodes in a network allows for a comparison of their position within the process. This way, it is possible to characterize certain actions according to their network attributes. In order to fully describe a PDP, it is, however, necessary to include other influencing factors as well. For example, there are only few approaches examining the impact of quality and progress on the process artefacts (such as CAD-files). The goal of this paper is to clarify what information is necessary to precisely describe a PDP in a network model. This covers a statement about the level of detail, general structure and dynamic of the networks.